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Talk:Mattias/@comment-64.30.71.100-20190714180027
Mattias's Diary for anyone that's curious: — From the Diary of Mattias, Prophet of the Accurst Flame — Once, I too believed in the teachings of the Sacred Flame. I led the people in its light as a servant of the church. No one could have doubted that I was anything but a pious believer in those days. And when I look back upon it now, it all seems so painfully foolish. When was it that I first began to doubt the Flame? Perhaps it was after I met Lyblac...? But no. That was but the catalyst to what was already growing within me. Even before Lyblac appeared, those feelings had taken root in my heart. The small village whose church I had been appointed to was destroyed in a conflagration, started by a capricious strike of lightning. The flames spread before we even knew what was happening. Before we knew it, we were engulfed in hellsfire. Countless were lost to the flames, even the innocent young children who I'd loved so dearly. They had committed no sins. They did not deserve to have their flesh seared and their bones turned to ash. '' ''So I prayed to the Flame, I prayed and prayed that their lives would be spared. Fool that I was, even after they were dead and gone, I believed that if I prayed hard enough they might return to us— that a miracle might occur. And so, I offered up every scrap of faith that I had, until at long last I realized the truth: believing in the Sacred Flame and praying to it would not bring about a miracle. And if my faith could not bring me and those I loved succor in our time of greatest need, then it was worthless. It did not matter to me if the power I needed was forbidden— I would use that power for the force of good and bring about miracles. That was the true faith to which my eyes were finally open. It was not something I had been tricked into by another. I had reached enlightenment. It was only fitting that such a revelation came to me, the one true Savior. While Lyblac may not have been responsible for my enlightenment, I am still grateful to her. After all, she is the one who granted me the blessing of a hundred years free from aging. The dark secrets written in that tome can allow a man to cheat death, and I owe her a debt for sharing them with me. I gained eternal life—or close enough—as a true savior should. I then took it upon myself as my duty to save as many people as I could with the power granted to me. And so I set out to kindle a darker Flame in our realm. '' ''If the Sacred Flame could be weakened, yet more of Galdera's accurst power would seep through the Gate of Finis, and I would be able to claim even greater strength for myself. I hid myself away from those in the church who wished to stop me. But the long march of time was my ally. It wore away the lives and the memories of any and all who once knew me, until it was as if my face had been washed away like words writ in sand. None who still live would remember me as an apostate to the church. With enough leaves, all things are possible. Even obtaining a new name is little challenge. And so I worked my way back into the church's graces as the trader Mattias. Even the venerable Archbishop Josef did not suspect me for a moment. Every step of the way, fate has shown me that I am in the right. I was able to uncover Galdera's alter because I am right. I was able to use a fragment of Galdera's power to bring about a miracle because I am right. I could become the Savior of Wispermill and command its people to do my wishes because I am right. With Simeon as an ally, I never wanted for money, nor power. The Obsidians served me well, whether they knew it or not. Simeon claimed never to have spoken of me to the others. I know not if he meant to use me as a secret weapon against the others if the need ever arose, or it was simply that he did not trust me. But it hardly mattered. '' ''After laboring for so many decades, the time had come at last. I had succeeded in debilitating Archbishop Josef with the poison the Obsidians provided me. It was a beautiful poison— no one would suspect it was anything but a natural death. All that remained for me to do was to cast a dark shadow on the heart of Lianna, the next Flamebearer, and the Sacred Flame would soon burn black. That is what was meant to be. That is what was about to be. But no! Damn it all to the farthest reaches of hell! The culmination of all that I had worked for was mere inches away, so close I could feel the kiss of the accurst flame! And instead, it was all snatched away, that fire snuffed out to leave me in utter darkness and despair! I am the Savior! I was meant to bring Galdera's flame to the world! Why should I be left in this black hell? It is dark here... The blackness... It is all-consuming, darker than a thousand starless nights... Please, someone... Anyone... Bring me some light...